Olga's Kitchen expands while staying true to its Michigan roots

December 15, 2013

Olga's Kitchen, a metro Detroit chain, is seeking to expand and return to its roots. At Olga's in Canton, the new CEO, Jonathan Fox, and the founder, Olga Loizon, are testing a chicken shawarma. / Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press

Detroit Free Press Business Writer

A chicken shawarma prepared by Fox at the Olga's Kitchen in Canton on Dec. 5. The privately held chain has 36 restaurants. / Regina H. Boone/Detroit Free Press

Olga’s Kitchen at a glance

Headquarters: Troy Restaurants: 36, mostly in Michigan Annual sales: About $50 million History: The first Olga’s Kitchen opened in 1970 in Birmingham. It was named after the woman who started it, Olga Loizon, who developed a recipe for bread and Greek dishes. Loizon no longer has an ownership stake in the company, but makes appearances at the restaurants. She also has a hand in keeping the recipes true to the original. Website:www.olgas.com

More

ADVERTISEMENT

In a windowless conference room inside the Troy headquarters of Olga’s Kitchen, the namesake founder is cooking with the company’s head chef and its CEO, who also was trained as a chef.

The door is locked. A sign on it reads: “Restricted area. Do not enter.”

Behind it, the trio is making bread — and a big mess — using the original, handwritten recipe Olga Loizon brought with her. Their aim: To compare their batch with the flatbread the casual Greek-inspired restaurant chain is serving now, as one of its signature items.

“Or strength is our legacy and the traditions we have,” Jonathan Fox, the CEO, said in a Nov. 26 interview, a day after making the bread. He outlined his vision for the company and the “delicate balance” of trying to grow the $50-million chain beyond its Michigan roots, but remain faithful to the original concept. “It’s my desire to reflect and recognize where we came from.”

He has his work cut out for him.

Fox, who joined Olga’s in February, plans to open about 100 more stores nationwide — many of them franchises — in the next five years. He also wants to create more consistency and continuity among the privately-held chain’s 36 restaurants.

The new boss

Fox, 48, has experience in the kitchen and the boardroom.

He learned to cook at the Culinary Institute of America and worked as a chef, but also developed restaurant concepts, such as Maggiano’s Little Italy, and ran his own restaurants in Chicago, where, he said, his wife and kids still live.

Since Fox became CEO at Olga’s, he has sought to freshen the menu and focus on Mediterranean-inspired fare. He also plans to open more restaurants that will be more self-service — what the industry calls fast-casual — than full-service, so customers can get in and out quicker.

He updated images on the menu, such as dough being rolled out to give it a more refined, old-world feel. Different Olga’s restaurants, he said, were using different menus, serving different items. He made sure they are using the same one.

And he’s trying to tell the chain’s story, which may be a challenge.

Some customers, like Thomas Syrkett, know little about the company’s origins.

While waiting for a takeout order at the Olga’s in Royal Oak, Syrkett, 59, of Southfield, said he loves the food, and has been eating it for four or five years. But he never knew why the chain was named Olga’s — or that Olga was even a real person.

Telling Olga's story

Fox describes Loizon as a fiery woman, who always wears big earrings and heels. She no longer has an ownership stake in the company, but Fox said he’s glad she’s still around. She says what’s on her mind. While Loizon made bread with Fox, she talked — and, Fox said, she didn’t hold anything back.

Loizon told him she doesn’t like her portrait in the lobby. She’s wearing red in it. She doesn’t think she looks good in red, Fox said.

Fox brought aprons for them to wear.

“We don’t need aprons,” she told him. “Let’s get dirty!”

Loizon got the idea to open a restaurant to serve souvlaki, Greek-inspired sandwiches, after visiting Greece, and opened the first Olga’s in 1970 in Birmingham. The souvlaki, which is wrapped with the bread Fox baked, has a distinctive flavor and is now called the original Olga.

But, the food, which was too foreign for many in metro Detroit, didn’t catch on until Loizon started giving it away — and people tasted it.

Harvey Pilot, 73, of Shelby Township, said his first Olga was one of Loizon’s samples — and he’s been eating them ever since.

“I don’t like fast food,” he said Thursday as he dined at Olga’s in Royal Oak. “But this is good.”

That’s the kind of compliment Fox wants to hear.

“What we are trying to do is make sure we are aligned with the traditions of the brand and not lose that — ever,” he said. “We haven’t stayed as disciplined. But, we’re getting back to that.”